Why cabbage and beans lead to bloating and what can we do?

Why cabbage and beans lead to bloating and what can we do?

09.05.2014

Peas, beans, soybeans, lentils and cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, kale, horseradish and radish, mustard) contain in large amounts carbohydrates like melibiose, raffinose and stachyose. They are hardly digestible or sometimes even considered indigestible sugars, containing alpha-galactosyl groups. These sugars produce large amounts of gas and significant abdominal discomfort in most subjects.

When we eat these vegetables, the carbohydrates can’t be digested properly, so they pass unchanged from the small intestine to the large intestine where they become “food” for the colonic flora. These bacteria break down and digest these oligosaccharides, through fermentation processes, producing large amounts of gases that cause bloating, distension, abdominal discomfort and flatulence (excessive removal of gas through the anus).

A clinical study from 2006 (Di Stefano et al.) shows that the use of α – galactosidase, an enzyme of fungal origin, administered orally, reduces fermentable substrates by breaking down alpha – 1-6 bonds of melibiose, raffinose and stachyose, before they can be metabolized by the bacteria from the colon. This significantly reduces the production of intestinal gas and also effectively decreases symptoms related to the presence of excessive gas (bloating, discomfort, flatulence). These results demonstrate that oral administration of α – galactosidase may have an important role in managing intestinal gas production and therefore the symptoms of excess gas produced when consuming meals rich in fermentable carbohydrates, such as those of cabbage, beans, peas or even some fruits won’t be so detrimental anymore.

ZIMEZ is the only enzyme containing product in Romania that has as a main ingredient alpha- galactosidase (besides the other 11 enzymes in the composition), the enzyme that helps in digestion and absorption of hardly digestible oligosaccharides from cabbage, beans and other similar vegetables and prevent bloating, discomfort and flatulence. ZIMEZ is also effective for indigestion caused by consumption of high-fat meal, or large, excessive meals (like dinners, holidays), improving digestion and absorption of all types of food.

ZIMEZ can be administered in a dosage of 1-2 capsules during or immediately after meals.